A slip during an interview revealed the sneaking suspicion of free thinkers. The UK government was no longer restricting itself to censoring web content which was illegal. It was going to start censoring content which it simply didn't like, Ian Dunt writes

The UK government is sneaking through a vast extension to pornographic prohibition. It’s so vaguely worded that it could cover 50 Shades of Grey (if filmed), Game of Thrones or Florentine statues. Jonathan Lindsell reports

Egypt is taking steps to enforce a ban on internet porn ordered by a Cairo court late last year. The ban was first ordered three years ago, but went unimplemented. This time it looks like it’s going to happen, and it won’t be cheap: the necessary filtering system will cost the

The coalition government has announced plans to consult with internet service providers on new measures to block online adult material in the UK. Under the plans it would be up to customers to opt in if they wish to view pornography on the internet when they sign up for a

Online payment service PayPal have backtracked on a policy against processing sales of e-books containing themes of rape, bestiality or incest. Protests from authors and anti-censorship activist groups, including Index on Censorship, led to a revision of their policy, which will now focus on e-books that contain potentially illegal images, not e-books that

David Cameron has announced plans to block access to pornography online, with providers offering the choice to turn on a filter.Seth Finkelstein examines how indiscriminate blocking systems censor not just pornography, but feminist, gay rights and education material

Australian service providers, including Telstra and Optus, will voluntarily block websites deemed by the government as showing and disseminating child pornography. Those who attempt to access the blacklisted sites will be redirected to the site of the International Criminal Police Organisation. Wikileaks revealed that on the blacklist are some gay

Iranian authorities have sentenced a web designer to death for allegedly creating a pornographic website. Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour, 35, was convicted of “designing and moderating adult content websites,” “agitation against the regime” in Tehran, and “insulting the sanctity of Islam”. Malekpour was detained in Iran in 2008 when he

Index on Censorship magazine

Don’t miss the spring issue of Index on Censorship magazine. Post Charlie Hebdo our commentators take a global view at how threats are being used to stop writers and artists, with Ariel Dorfman, David Edgar, Father Ted’s Arthur Mathews, Turkish novelist Elif Shafak and others. Also, major general Tim Cross and internet guru Martha Lane Fox go head to head on national security versus privacy, and Ismail Einashe on the perils of escaping from Eritrea.